NatWest and RBS launch 23-month interest-free balance transfer credit cards

If you need a longer lasting 0% balance transfer card there are two new challengers to choose from.

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have launched two new balance transfer credit cards that each offer 23 months interest free.

Both the NatWest Platinum Balance Transfer credit card and the Royal Bank of Scotland Premium Balance Transfer credit card come with a bumped up balance transfer period as well as six months at 0% on purchases. And both charge a fee of 3.5% of the balance you're transferring.

Transfers on both are also limited to 95% of your credit limit, so if your new card has a limit of £2,000, you could switch up to £1,900. And transferring debt from existing Royal Bank of Scotland Group cards is not allowed.

How they compare

Unfortunately the hefty 3.5% transfer fee on both the NatWest and RBS cards means they are unable to shift Barclaycard as the leader in this market.

Currently the Barclaycard 23-Month Platinum Visa offers the same 23 months interest-free on balance transfers but for a much smaller fee of 2.8%. The only downside compared to the newcomers is that it only has three months at 0% for purchases. But if you’re using the credit card as a tool to combat expensive credit card debt then this is hardly likely to matter. Note that you can't transfer balances from other Barclaycards.

Another alternative is the Tesco Clubcard Credit Card for Balance Transfers. With this card you get a slightly shorter 22 months interest-free on balances you transfer for a fee of 2.9%. But Tesco is offering the same 0% on purchases for six months, so if you plan to spend as well as transfer this could be a good option.

Even cheaper than either of these is the Barclaycard 22-Month Platinum Visa, which only carries a fee of 2.6% and gives you 22 months interest-free. It also comes with six months 0% purchases.

Important decisions

There are plenty of balance transfer cards to choose from at the moment, but you'll need to think about a number of factors before you decided which one is right for you.

You might want to try and keep the cost of the balance transfer down so you don't add too much to the debt, but also buy enough time to clear the balance before it starts accumulating interest again.

There are number of cheap options if you only need between nine and 17 months to clear your debt with balance transfer fees as low as 1.5%. You can read more about these in The best 0% balance transfer credit cards.

But if you need much more time to get your finances in order then a card that offers 20 months or more may be a better option.

0% balance transfer credit cards lasting 20 months or more

Here is a table showing how much it will cost to transfer £5,000-worth of debt onto some of the market leading cards with the longest interest-free periods.

*Existing current account holders only

As you can see the size of the fee makes a big difference with the cost ranging from £130 to £175. Sadly the length of time does not directly correlate to the price of a transfer. The Halifax 22-Month MasterCard, for example, charges 3.5% but the Barclaycard 22-month Platinum Visa offers the same 22 months for just 2.6%.

Make sure you select carefully and pinpoint the best deal to get you back in the black.

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